Switch-frog.



I. B. YARNELI.;

SWITCH FROG.

APPLICATION FILED APR.20. ISH. Ilg.,

mmm Feb. 1918,

IIIIII WITNESS L .Jp

ATTORNEY ,rara enanas .aren oren.

JOHN '.B. YARNELL, OF J'OHNSTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA.

SWITCH-FROG.

Application filed April 20, 1917.

To all whom t may concern;

Be it known that l, JOHN B. YARNELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Johnstown, in the county of Cambria and State 0f Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in Switch-Frogs, of which the following is a speciiication.

This invention relates to improvements in railway construction and is particularly directed to railway frogs.

ln carrying out my invention it is my purpose to arrange at the adjacent sides of the frog point movable members, which I will. term wing rails and which are arranged at the abutting ends of the rails alining with the frog rails, and which wing rails are adapted, one, to be automatically moved away from the frog point by the Wheels of the rolling stock passing over the frog, such movement of one of the wing rails serving to automatically lock the remaining wing rail whereby to provide a continuous tread for the wheels 0f the rolling stock as well as a means for protecting the frog point by preventing the wheels of the rolling stock contacting therewith.

It is a further object of the invention to produce a protective means for the point of a railway frog which shall be actuated by the wheels of the rolling stock approaching the frog from either direction, which will e'ect in bridging the gap between the frog point and rails, which shall be of a simple construction, positive in its action, and readily applied to any ordinary construction of railway frogs.

With the above and other objects in view the improvement resides in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts set forth in the following specification and falling within the scope of the appended claims.

ln the drawing:

Figure 1 is a plan view illustrating the im provement,

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same,

Fig. 3 is a sectional view approximately on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1, .4 i

Fig. 4 is a sectional view approximately on the line 4-4 0f Fig. 1,

Fig. 5 is a sectional view approximately on the line 5--5 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one of the wing rails.

Preferably, and as illustrated by the drawing, the frog point 1 and the angularly disposed rails 2 and 3 alining with the sides Specication 0f Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 5, 1918.

serial No. 163,507.

of the `said point are supported upon a flat plate 4. The rails 2 and 3, at their ends, are preferably held in spaced relation through the medium of a hollow spacer element 5, which, as illustrated in Fig. 4 of the drawing, is received in the fishing spaces of the said rails and is bolted to the webs thereof. The ends of the rails 2 and 3 are cut at opposite angles, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 1 whereby to engage with the angular ends provided upon the tread portions 7 of the switch point protective elements, which I will refer to as wing rails, and which are each broadly indicated by the numeral 8. The tread portion of each of the members S is flat, but has its inner edge disposed at opposite angles, as indicated by the numerals 9 and 10, the angular edges 9 valining with the inner faces of the angularly disposed rails 2 and 3, while the angular portions 10 contact with the opposite sides of the frog point 1. The head 0r tread portions of the wing rails 8, outward of the referred to switch point contacting edges 10 are flared outwardly, as at 11, providing angular or V-shaped gaps between the members 8 and the sides of the rails connected directly with the switch point 1. integrally formed with the tread portion 7 of each of the wing rails 8 is an angularly disposed side 12, the lower edge of which being preferably rounded and rests directly upon the plate 4.

The wing rails 8 are formed, upon their lower edges, and adjacent their ends with depending lugs 13 and 14 respectively which are designed to pass through suitable slots 15 and 16 respectively in the plate 4, the said lugs having longitudinal openings through which are passed pins 17 that are designed to engage with the underface of the plate 4, and whereby to hingedly secure the wing rails to the said plate.

The wing rails 8, upon their outer angular sides 12, and preferably inward of their lugs 13 and 14, are formed with or have secured thereto block members 18 provided with protective hoods 19, the outer walls of the hoods being rounded and overlie the outer rounded walls of stop members 20 which are secured to or formed with the plate 4. The members 20, are designed to limit the swinging of the wing rails in a direction outward of the frog point 1 and the respective rails 2 and 3.

The lugs 14 are of a greater length than the lugs 13 of the respective wing rails and.

each of the said lugs, below itspivotal connection with the plate l has secured thereto a flexible member 21, preferably in the nature of a strong wire element, and each of the said elements 21. is trained over one of a pair of grooved wheels or pulley members 22, respectively which have their shafts or trunnions journaled in suitable bearing openings provided upon the depending ele? contact plate 26, the outer end of each of the said plates 26 being pivotally secured, as at 27, to the outer face of the respective rails 2 and 3. Each of the lugs la upon its inner face, and adjacent its lower end. is formed withan inturned boss 28,V and sur-v rounding these oppositely disposed bosses is a helical spring 29 of a strength sutlieient to at all times swing the wing rails to cause their edges 10 to contact with the opposite angular sides of the frog point 1, and like- Wise maintain the tread surfaces 7 of the said wing rails flush with the treads of the frog point and the respective rails 2 and 3. Arranged within the convolutions of the spring 29 is a rod 30 that is normally held in one position; that is, suitably spaced from the ends of the bosses 28 through the medium of pins 31 passing between the convolutions of the spring 29.

IThe operation'of the device may be briefly described as follows: Should a train travel over the frog in the direction of either of the arrows a, it will be apparent that 'the rims of the wheels, entering the gaps provided by the angular eut portions 11 of the tread surface 7 of either of the wing rails 8, cause the said wing rail to be swung out-A wardly away from contacting relation with the side of the frog point. This movement Y of one of the wing rails will cause the spring 29 to compress and in so doing will bring its boss 28 into contacting engagement with the rod 307 forcing the said rod .against the boss 28 of thefsecond wing rail, thus locking one ofthe ,wing rails so that the same not only produces the gap between the end of either of the rails 2 and 3 and the frog point, but provides a rm bearing forthe wheelsof the rolling stock. The blocks 1S of thetilted or swung wing rail engaging with the stops 20 will limit the swinging of the said wing rail, and when the rolling stock has passed over the tread surface ofthe wing. rail providing a support for its wheels, the tread or flange ofthe wheels will engage with the outer rounded corner 32 of one of the contact plates 26, 4moving-the"saine downwardly. By reference tothe drawings it will be noted that the referred to ends 32 of the contact plates 26 extend over the sides of the wing rails but are normally disposed thereabove, and by moving the said contact plate, as just described, the same will engage with the side of the wing rail, thus more effectively locking theV same and forming a firm tread for the wheels of the rolling stock. y

Should the train approach the frog inthe direction of each of the arrows the tread surface or rims of the wheelsv will engage and ride over one of the angularly disposed contact plates 26, swinging the same downwardly to bring its upper edge flush with the rail upon which the rolling stock travels and locking one of the wing rails by virtue` of contact with the side of theV saidwing rail. The downward swinging of the plate 26 causes its rod 25 to draw the flexible element 21,- connected to the said rod, over the grooved wheel or pulley 22 (in a downwarddirection) and' consequently, through the mediumof the said connection 21 with the lug. 14 of the opposite wing rail, to swing the said last referred to wing rail out of contacting engagement with the frog point to permit of the free passage of the train over the frog point and without danger of the infliction of injury to the said point- From the above description, taken in ceanection with the accompanying drawing, the simplicity of the device, as well as the advantages thereof will, it is thought, be perfectly apparent to those skilled in the art to which such .invention appertains without further detailed description, it being thought merely necessary to add that the plate 4 protects the spring and flexible elements under all weather conditions andas the said plate is adapted to be arranged over a suitable box-like housing, the said elements are like--v wise protected-from an accumulation Vof dirtV or other matter interfering with the operation thereof, while the hoods upon the members 18 protect the' said members from like conditions.

Having thus described the invention, what i claimis: @Y

1. In a device for the purpose set forth, the combination with a frog point and the angularly disposed main rails spaced therefrom, ofwing rails having angular inner edges disposed in alinement withthe inner faces of the main rails` and contacting with the angular sides of the frog point and disposed iush with the heads 0fthe said main rails and frog point, the edges of the wing rails contacting with the frog point being v flared outward to the ends of the said wing rails, spring pressed means for normally sustaining the wing rails in frog point engaging. position,- and means comprising mechanism Vbetween the said wing rails Afor CII locking one of said wing rails against the :frog point and one of the main rails, when the second wing rail is moved out of frog point engaging position.

2. The combination with a frog point, and angular main rails spaced therefrom, of pivoted wing rails alining with the main rails and contacting with the frog point and having one of their edges spaced away from the frog point, spring pressed means for normally retaining the wing rails in such position, and means, comprising mechanism, coacting with said spring means whereby to lock one of the wing rails in its said position when the other wing rail is moved from frog point contacting position.

3. In combination with a frog point and angular main rails spaced therefrom, of pivoted wing rails alining with the main rails and contacting with the opposite sides of the frog point and having one of their ends spaced from such contact with the frog point, spring means for normally retaining the wing rails in such position, means supported by said spring means whereby to lock one o1 the wing rails in said position, when the other wing rail is swung from contacting relation with the frog point, and means for limiting such swinging of said wing rails.

4t. ln combination with a frog point and rails spaced therefrom, of pivoted wing rails alining with the referred to rails and contacting with the sides of the frog point and having one of their ends spaced from such contacting engagement with the frog point, blocks upon the sides of the wing rails, hoods for such blocks, stop members received in such hoods designed to contact with the Y blocks to limit the outward swinging movement of the wing rails, spring means for normally retaining the wing rails in frog point contacting position, and means comprising mechanism between said wing rails whereby to hold one of said wing rails in frog point engaging position when the other wing rail is swung outwardly of the frog point.

5. In combination with a plate, a frog point secured thereon, and main rails secured thereon and spaced from the frog point, of wing rails designed to aline with the main rails and to contact with the sides of the frog point, lugs upon the wing rails passing through openings in the plate, means for pivotally connecting the lugs to the plate, bosses upon two of the oppositely disposed lugs, a spring surrounding the bosses, a rod arranged in and centrally secured to the spring, contact plates pivotally secured to the main rails and having one of their ends normally disposed above but projecting over the sides of the wing rails, a rod upon said end of cach of said contact plates and passing through a bearing opening in the supporting plate, pulleys upon the supporting plate, and a flexible element upon each of said rods trained over one of said pulleys and connected with the respective spring carrying lugs.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

JOHN B. YARNELL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Y Washington, D. C. 

